By two o'clock we were back on the road and heading for Atascasdero. We hit the rolling hills preceding the Coastal Range about 3 pm and the car began to run hot again. About ten miles out of Atascadero we started to bog down, and the car began to backfire on the downgrades. I pulled over, thinking that the timing needed adjustment. To my dismay I saw that the gasket between the exhaust manifold and the downpipe had burned out and was spitting exhaust. I didn't dare tighten the bolts-- I've broken bolts off in the exhaust manifold THREE times before. We'd have to wait until the engine was totally cool before I would touch them. The hills turned into mountains and we stunk our way through them. |
 We crossed these mountains... and a lot more. |